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Decolonization in a mixed blood identity.
Matriarchy is small particles to collect and hold in her hand. Walking
the shores of the Great Lakes, listening, quietly. She is your
neighbor. She is working poor, working class and often living below the
economic poverty line. Be careful with your words because poverty is
not in her spirit. She has great wisdom but is invisible in the
dominant culture. She is Anishinaabekwe.

Centuries have past and traditions and ancestries have been mixed.
Yet the memory of her ancestors remains in her heart and soul. She is
elegant even in the face of great adversity. She is beautiful even in
the face of racism. She is strong when the culture places her into a
glass box, which is more oppressive that the glass ceiling, because of
her identity as an Anishinaabekwe.

The water must be listened to. The water must be heard.
Anishinaabekwe listens. Anishinaabekwe seeks and quietly creates the
deep, meaningful and real. The water is soothing. The water is
healing. The water is wisdom.

What does decolonization mean? Who is defining it? Is
Anishinaabekwe allowed to have an equal voice? Decolonization could
mean reclaiming culture, heritages, traditions, language and life ways.
Decolonization is much more. Decolonization is about the land, water,
and spirit.

Decolonization is about her, Anishinaabekwe. Decolonization is
taking her hand and assisting her. Decolonization is giving her a
platform, giving her the pen to write and speak. Ultimately
decolonization is about matriarchy. As title holders of the land and
water, not defined under Euro-centric definitions we made decisions
about the land and water for our communities and nations. We were not
silence by the colonized state governments occupying our lands. As the
hearts of our nations we were lifted up and given and equal platform.
We had a choice in defining this platform as well.

We have been under the guise of hetero-patriarchal colonial rule on
our traditional lands and in our communities. We’ve had to follow these
oppressive rules often by force for survival. As Native American women
we experience the highest rates of sexual assault, sexual violence and
rape out of any group of women in the country. Violence is not
traditional in our communities. Violence on our bodies, the land and
water is not traditional.

Collecting these particles is healing and reclaiming who we are. As
women we are the hearts of our nations. We tend and care for the
water. We tend and care for the land. We tend and care for our
communities.

The water is healing. The water is purification. The water is
Anishinaabekwe. The waters of the Great Lakes are deep and ancient.
Stories are waiting to be told by the women, elders, youth and various
Anishinaabe communities surrounding the Great Lakes. Decolonization and
matriarchy pave a path for visibility and voice in our communities.
All of our communities need to support Anishinaabekwe, as Keepers of the
Water.